Social Agenda Issue 54

SOC I A L AG E NDA / J U LY 2 0 1 7 / 2 7 Social policy on top Katarina Ivanković-Knežević is Director in charge of Social Affairs, in the European Commission, since September 2018 You came straight from being Social Affairs Deputy Minister in Croatia to becoming a Director in the European Commission, in Brussels! Yes, I have worked in the Croatian Ministry of Labour and Pension System for the past 12 years, but for more than 20 years in the public administration as a whole. After having studied law I was part of the very first batch of young Croatian civil servants to undertake an EU trainers’ programme. Since 2006 we worked on the establishment of structures for the Instrument for Pre- accession Assistance and the European Social Fund in Croatia. I also negotiated chapters 19 (employment, social affairs and inclusion) and 20 (regional policy and EU funds) of Croatia’s EU Accession treaty. How do you see the role of the EU in the employment and social affairs area? For me, social policy in a really broad sense has always been a top priority: Whether I was dealing with integrating children with disabilities into the regular education system or securing personal assistance for people with disabilities, the social inclusion of those that require our assistance was always at the back of my mind. And I have always believed that the European Union has a strong role to play in social affairs. You have come at the right time with the pending adoption of the European Accessibility Act? Yes, especially as it addresses the next generation of accessibility rights. The previous generations were about ensuring regular access to buildings for people with disabilities or integrating them into the education system and the labour market. The European Accessibility Act is definitely about the next generation: issues that are often taken for granted -such as access to bank machines, websites… - and that represent everyday life obstacles for people with disabilities. Because of population ageing, it will also benefit everybody in due course! Moreover, it is a fulfilment of equal opportunities policy. Two other social affairs proposals, about to be adopted by the EU, also have to do with equality: the Work-Life Balance Directive and the Recommendation on access to social protection … Agreement on the Work-Life Balance Directive was reached at the end of January and it is a real breakthrough: For instance, it will ensure that carer responsibilities are equally shared among the partners and it will allow more fathers to stay with the mothers and their newborn child. I know how important this is, as my very first task at the beginning of my working life was to address gender equality! As for the Recommendation, indeed, a large percentage of people are involved in non-standard forms of work and are not having access to social protection or to some aspects of it. This is not an option. We want to provide the possibility for the self-employed and those employed with non-standard contracts, including platform workers, to have access to social protection: Unemployment benefits, social care, pension rights… all the rights that normally derive from a work relationship. Katarina Ivanković-Knežević: The European Accessibility Act is about the next generation of rights; the Work-Life Balance Directive is a real breakthrough; and not having access to social protection is not an option. © European Union INTERVIEW SOC I A L AG E NDA / MA R C H 9